Jacksonville Suns Information

The improbable wins are often the most satisfying in minor-league baseball.

That’s why the Jacksonville clubhouse was a bit on the raucous side Sunday afternoon after the Suns overcame blowing a three-run advantage entering the ninth inning.

Jacksonville pushed across a run in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 win over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in front of 2,722 at the Baseball Grounds.

The Suns (8-9) built a 4-1 advantage behind another masterful start by left-hander Andrew Heaney. Heaney matched career highs of seven innings and nine strikeouts in a game. He allowed a third-inning run — scored on a bloop hit to center — and permitted just two other hits in his third straight strong outing.

He threw six scoreless innings in his two previous starts.

Suns batters gave Heaney what looked like enough support, scoring single runs in the second, third, fifth and eighth innings for the three-run lead.

But Suns reliever Nick Wittgren allowed singles to the first three Wahoo batters in the ninth to load the bases.

He was within a strike of closing out the game when Travis Mattair doubled into the corner to bring in two runs. Juan Duran then followed with an infield single for Pensacola (7-10) to tie the score at 4-all.

The Suns’ heroics started with two outs in their half of the ninth. J.T. Realmuto delivered his third hit of the game, beating out a grounder into the hole at short. He stole second — his third theft of the game — and went to third when catcher Bryan Anderson’s throw sailed into center. Realmuto trotted home with the winning run moments later when Rich Poythress laced a grounder just inside the first-base bag.

“Anytime you blow a lead like that for a guy who pitched so well, it’s kind of deflating,” Suns manager Andy Barkett said. “The dugout was kind of flat, especially when we get the leadoff guy on in the ninth, and he gets picked off.

“But when J.T. got the hit and stole second and goes to third, it invigorated everyone. Poythress then battled the pitcher and comes through with the big hit. These guys have been resilient since the start of the season, and I’m really proud of them.”

Realmuto was one of the Southern League’s hottest hitters last week. In five games, He went 12 for 20, scoring 10 runs and driving in seven. He raised his batting average from .189 to .333, fourth in the league.

“Obviously, the first thing I think about is defense, but it’s always nice to throw a couple of knocks in there and help the team score some runs,” said Realmuto, who scored twice and drove in two runs.

Realmuto was more ready to talk about Heaney’s performance.

“He was phenomenal. That’s three starts in a row where he’s just dominated hitters,” Realmuto said. “Overall, he pitched really well. He had all four of his pitches really working. He looked good … again.”

It marked the seventh consecutive game in which the Suns’ starting pitcher threw six to seven innings.

During this stretch, the starters have combined for 44 2/3 innings, allowing 27 hits and eight earned runs (1.61 ERA) in winning five of the seven games.

The teams meet in the third game of the series at 7:05 p.m. Monday with Suns right-hander Angel Sanchez (0-3, 4.20) opposing righty Robert Stephenson (1-1, 5.56).